Rehabilitation and recovery: a person-centred approach

5. What do we mean by "Rehabilitation"?

Rehabilitation means different things to different people. Here rehabilitation refers to a wide-range of approaches that include activities, interventions and information resources that support individuals to recover or adjust to achieve their full potential. It includes approaches that focus on early intervention for prevention, prehabilitation and supported self-management.

Rehabilitation should be outcome focused and support individuals to work towards goals that are realistic, achievable and meaningful to them in order for them to live well and feel more in control of their own health and wellbeing.

Individuals who benefit from rehabilitation are people who have or are at risk of developing long-term (non-addiction) conditions, people with disabilities, people who have had an injury, surgery, disease or illness, or whose functioning has declined with age.^[3]

Good rehabilitation is multifaceted and the individual should feel empowered and supported to explore what is important to them. It should be personalised and support the whole person, their physical and mental health, and should take into account their desired lifestyle.

As part of the rehabilitation process, the social determinants of health e.g. income, housing and employment should be prioritised as a basis for establishing a personalised approach. These factors impact health outcomes and health behaviour change and as a result can influence the likelihood of the individual meeting their rehabilitation goals.

In order to provide a wide range of rehabilitation approaches, a skilled workforce is required that spans health, social care and third and independent sectors. The workforce brings a range of skills that can vary across sector and by background. Understanding these skillsets and working to develop consistency across traditional service boundaries will help to fully utilise rehabilitation skills and the workforce moving forward.